The Storyteller unleashes the Sacred fire in
February 2015
Power metal outfit The Storyteller formed in the
Swedish town of Gävle in 1995 when, two friends L-G Persson and
Fredrik Groth, decided to start playing acoustic songs with medieval
influences together. This project soon evolved into more electric
stuff in the form of a band known for its melodic power metal with
medieval and folk music spices mixed in.
After a couple of line-up changes the band was
discovered by the small Swedish label No Fashion Records and they
released their self-titled debut album in the year 2000. The band now
consisting of main men L-G Persson (lead vocals and bass) and Fredrik
Groth (guitar) and joining them were Martin Hjärpe on drums and Lars
Martinsen on guitar.
From the very beginning the band cut out
its own niche in the overcrowded power metal genre with adding
medieval instruments and inspiration along with very strong choruses
and huge choirs to back them up. The bands reputation as a live
act grew and the amount of fans increased exponentially in the next
few years. They released a string of very strong efforts including
2003 highlight ”Tales of a Holy Quest”. Joining the band for that
release was Jacob Wennerqvist on lead guitar replacing Martinsen.
Being a concept album based on the shameful persecutions of innocent
victims by the church in Sweden branding them as Witches in the 18th
and 19th
century.
The Storyteller opened up for bands like Helloween,
Gammaray, Stratovarius and Hammerfall. They played two times at the
famous and prestigious Sweden Rock Festival in the early 00's but
being on a small record label meant limited marketing and financial
backing. By 2005 the band was on the verge of a larger breakthrough
being offered the support slot for a major band and a tour of Europe.
Disagreements arose with the record company over the cost of the tour and
disappointed in not getting this chance to prove themselves the band
went on hiatus indefinitely. Band leader L-G Persson then formed a
new band called Crystal Lightwith
long time Storyteller guitarist Jacob Wennerqvist, guitarist Marcus
Backlund and bass player Marco Lehto. A demo was released in 2008.
In 2011 L-G Persson and Fredrik Groth decided it was
time to take The Storyteller out of its hibernation and blow some
life into the band once again. Just before the recording of the
comeback album ”Dark Legacy” (2013) Groth left the band and was
replaced by Crystal Light guitarist Marcus Backlund. Bass player
Johan Sohlberg was not part of the reunion and the bass duties were
filled by Henke Brannerydh after ”Dark Legacy” had been
recorded, Wennerqvist and Backlund handling the bass on the album.
The Storyteller now unleashes their 6th
album showing they´re back for good and they mean business! ”Sacred Fire” comes with all the usual trademarks you expect from The
Storyteller, pounding double bass drum, massive hooks supported by
big choirs, medieval inspired and thoughtful lyrics and the superb
raw vocals of main man L-G Persson. This time the band has drawn a
lot of inspiration from ancient Greek mythology. For example the song
”The Ferryman” is about the Greek God Charon transporting dead
souls across the river Styx. With this being said The Storyteller is
not your regular power metal band that you can find down the street!
Track by track
The album opens up in a strong fashion with ”As I Die” which is a typical uptempo power metal song with a strong
chorus. Lyrically it´s based around a warriors plea to the Gods to
sit by their side as they die in battle. A worthy way to start off
with. It is then followed by the first single and first video ”One Last Stand” which starts off with Priest-esque fast and heavy
riffing driving the verses just if they had been written by Mr Tipton
himself. The song then changes tempo into a very melodic and great
chorus. The song seems to tell us all about what is going to happen on
the very last day (Armageddon). A very strong effort indeed.
Then it´s time for the title track which starts out
with galloping drums in true power metal fashion that quickly slows
down into an almost acoustical start of the first verse. The song
again changes tempo back to the fast drums for the chorus. The lyrics
tell the story of a blacksmith creating the ”Sacred Fire”. Then
follows the epic ”The Ferryman” based on the mythology of Charon
and the river Styx. This is an epic masterpiece with a massive chorus
backed by huge choirs and a song easy to sing along to. Easily the
strongest effort so far.
Just as if to compensate for this heavier and
slower song ”Serpent Eyes” follows suit with its speed metal
drive and the band just hits the pedal to the metal. The Greek
mythology continues on. This song is a about the legendary horrible
female creature, Gorgon, which had hair of living venomous snakes and
could turn you to stone with their gaze. The song reminds me of early
Helloween stuff minus the falsetto vocals. This ensures a varied
album with lots of different styles being served up but never
straying too far from the expected formula.
The Storyteller - photo by Mikael Svensson
Now follows what I would say is maybe the strongest
song on the album called ”Sons of the North”. The song starts off in a very fast pace, very similar to Running Wild, but then again
becomes heavy and epic in the build up for a melodic and enchanting
chorus supported by a huge choir. I found myself toe tapping and
singing along to this song without even noticing it at first. This
song also has L-G Persson singing his heart out and delivering the
vocal performance of the album.
Being ecstatic of what I just heard, the album
continues on with the song with the longest name on the album: ”In Search of Treasures, Stones and Gold”. This is a regular power
metal song with a great and majestic chorus but not the strongest
effort in my opinion. The lyrics tell the tale of treasure hunters
searching for gold. A song in the typical Storyteller fashion and
ending with a short medieval inspired acoustic piece. Not bad at all
just not the strongest hand in the deck.
”Sacred Fire” then continues with the only ballad
of the album, "Coming Home", and this is a strong one. Not always a fan of ballads
this song has me showing the white flag and surrendering to the great
chorus and L-G's fantastic vocals on this one. It really adds value
to the mix and gives the album a great variety!
The Storyteller - photo by Mikael Svensson
I am harshly being awakened by the thumping bass and
pounding drums of ”The Army of Southerfell” which is an upbeat
song with a huge chorus again. This song is about the English legend
of a spectral army marching this ridge on midsummer's day 1745. The
album continues with another upbeat song, ”Curse of the Seven Seas”. This song is about serving as a ghost on a ship, cursed for
a 100 years. I guess the lyrics were inspired by the legend of the
Flying Dutchman. A great song with a really strong lyrical content.
The album finishes off with two more typical
power metal and upbeat songs called ”Let Your Spirit Fly” and
”God of War”. "God of War" deals with the battle of Troy and the
struggle between the God Ares and his sister Athena. These songs are
in no way groundbreaking but great songs very typical of the
Storyteller.
To sum it all up this is the strongest effort
since ”Underworld” was released in 2005. I would give this new
album a rating of 8 out of 10. Not as prominent as 2003´s
masterpiece ”Tales of a Holy Quest” but pretty damn close. The
Storyteller are back and they mean business! They continue to tell us
about legends and stories of the past as they easily could have done
by the campfire. They just do it in a metallic setting. If your not
familiar with the band before they are definitely worth checking out.
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